“Congratulations on an Outstanding Play.”
-Arthur Torrington – The Windrush Foundation
In this hard-hitting play, Mark Grey examines the effect the government’s “hostile environment” policy had on the legal migrants of British Subjects from the Caribbean.
The “hostile environment” created to reduce net migration allowed the government to bully migrants out of the country. Legal Subjects were denied work, benefits, and healthcare. Without The Guardian’s tenacious journalism this shameful policy would have succeeded.
May 2012, the “hostile environment” policy to reduce net migration from 250,000 to 10,000 was introduced. Many legal subjects were harassed and detained as the government tried to bully them out of the country. Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman brought the shameful policy to the attention of the nation and Mark Grey brings the story to the stage as British subjects were refused access to work, benefits, and healthcare in an attempt to drive them out. If not for tenacious journalism they would have succeeded.
Award-winning playwright Mark Grey has taken the individual stories as reported in the National Press of Anthony Bryan, Paulette Wilson, Sylvester Marshall, and Michael Braithwaite and woven a story that highlights the way that children of the Windrush generation were shamelessly targeted by their own government, refused access to work, benefits, housing and healthcare in an attempt score political points by driving them out of the country they had called home for over 50years. It was disgraceful, disgusting and it was shameful. If not for Amelia Gentleman and the Guardian, they would have succeeded.
This is a true story, and Agape Theatre Company is doing its part to help ensure that everyone is aware of the facts.
